Mark Vandever is a Rangeland Management Specialist at the Fort Collins Science Center.
Since 2005, his research has focused on the impacts of Farm Bill programs on wildlife habitat across the Great Plains. Other research includes plant-pollinator relationships, environmental stressors to amphibians, and vegetation responses to land management practices.
Professional Experience
2005 to present: Rangeland Management Specialist, U.S. Geological Survey, Fort Collins, Colorado
Education and Certifications
M.Ag. Colorado State University, 2007
B.S. Range and Forest Management, Colorado State University, 1997
Science and Products
Social and Economic Analysis (SEA) Branch
The Social and Economic Analysis (SEA) branch is an interdisciplinary group of scientists whose primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to support the development of skills in natural resource management activities.
Agricultural Practices
Environmentally responsible land management has direct and indirect implications for wildlife, water quality, and air quality in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems far beyond their extent. Agricultural land use accounts for over 50 percent of the surface area of the contiguous United States. Public recognition that social, aesthetic, and recreational values enhance the traditional uses of...
Pesticide Exposure to Native Bees in Agricultural Landscapes
There is a lack of knowledge and understanding of how widespread use of pesticides may affect bees as they move across a diverse agricultural landscape. Studies have shown there are impacts to honey bees due to exposure to pesticides including neonicotinoid insecticides and fungicides, but the effects of these compounds on native pollinators are largely unknown.
Native Pollinators in Agricultural Ecosystems
Beginning in 2012, the USGS collaborated with the USDA to assess the effectiveness of pollinator plantings and how alteration of landscapes has affected native pollinators and potentially contributed to their decline. The 2008 Farm Bill recognized contributions made by pollinators and made conservation of pollinator habitat a priority. The USGS is assessing native bee habitat, diversity, and...
Conservation Practices in Agriculturally Dominated Landscapes
Agricultural land use accounts for over 50 percent of the surface area of the contiguous United States. How these lands are managed has direct and indirect implications for wildlife, water quality, and air quality in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems locally and far beyond their extent.
Plant and insect pollinator diversity data from Conservation Reserve Program fields across an agricultural gradient in eastern Iowa
This data release includes sampling location identification and timing data as well as plant and insect pollinator taxonomic information in Conservation Reserve Program fields. Sampling took place during July and August of 2019. Fields were located on private land managed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program in eastern central Iowa, U.S.A.
Characteristics, presence of erosional features, and cover of vegetation and bare ground on fields formerly enrolled in grassland, wetland, and wildlife practices of the Conservation Reserve Program in the central and western United States from 2017 to 20
Data included in this data set are from edge-of-field surveys that recorded the presence of erosional features, cover of vegetation and bare ground, and management activities (e.g., haying) on 1092 fields that had expired from three types of conservation practices (grassland, wetland, and wildlife) in the Conservation Reserve Program. Field sampling data were recorded across six US Department of A
Percent vegetation cover, bare ground and presence of erosional features on managed Conservation Reserve Program fields across central and western United States, 2016-2019
Data included in this data set are from edge-of-field surveys of managed fields that recorded the presence of erosional features and cover of vegetation and bare ground on 320 Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields across central and western United States. Field sampling data was recorded across six US Department of Agriculture Farm Production Regions (Corn belt, Lake states, Mountain, Northern
Images and Identifications of Wild Bees Collected in Eastern Iowa, 2019
Bees were collected in 24 fields across eastern Iowa in summer 2019. This data collection was part of a pesticide study funded by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area- Environmental Health Program. Bees were collected using the sweep net method and then were immediately placed on dry ice in the field. Bees were kept frozen to prevent degradation. In the lab, each wild bee was photographed from one or
Pesticide residues in passive samplers and bee tissue from Conservation Reserve Program fields across an agricultural gradient in eastern Iowa, USA, 2019 (ver 2.0, October 2023)
This data release includes sampling location, pesticide concentrations in passive samplers (silicone bands) and bees foraging in Conservation Reserve Program fields. Sampling took place during July and August of 2019. Fields were located on private land managed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program in eastern central Iowa, U.S.A.
Presence of erosional features and cover of grasses, forbs, and bare ground on fields enrolled in grassland, wetland, and wildlife practices of the Conservation Reserve Program in the central and western United States from 2016 to 2018
Data included in this data set are from in-field and edge-of-field surveys that recorded the presence of erosional features and cover of vegetation and bare ground on 1786 Conservation Reserve Program fields across three types of conservation practices (grassland, wetland, and wildlife). Field sampling data were recorded across six US Department of Agriculture Farm Production Regions (Corn belt, L
Native Bee Genera in Colorado Conservation Reserve Program Fields, Collected from 2012-2014
Data included in this data set are for blue vane trap captured native bees from Logan County, Colorado starting in 2012 and ending in 2014. Data collected were the number of bees captured per date, per field, and identified to genus. Net level data contains 16,229 records.
Amphibian Occupancy and Effects of Habitat Use on Pesticide Exposure in Iowa Wetlands
Amphibians living in agricultural areas encounter many challenges. Two factors affecting individuals in these landscapes are habitat loss and pesticides. This thesis focuses on amphibians using agricultural wetlands in Iowa, where row crops such as corn and soybeans dominate the landscape. The goal of my first study was to determine the influences of site characteristics on amphibian presence and
Filter Total Items: 25
Rangeland Ecosystem Services: Connecting nature and people
No abstract available.
Authors
Jeff Goodwin, Lauren M. Porensky, Paul Meiman, Hailey Wilmer, Justin D. Derner, Rich Iovanna, Anna Clare Monlezun, Mark W. Vandever, Jon Griggs, Frank Price, Sheri Spiegal, Nick Padilla, Dave Voth, Anna Maher, Rory O'Connor, David Hoover, Jenny Pluhar, Catherine Estep, William Fox
Persistence and quality of vegetation cover in expired Conservation Reserve Program fields
For nearly 40 years, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has implemented practices to reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators on highly erodible cropland in the United States. However, an approximately 40,470 ha (10 million acres) decline in enrolled CRP land over the last decade has greatly reduced the program's environmental benefits. We so
Authors
Mark W. Vandever, Kenneth Elgersma, Sarah K. Carter, Ai Wen, Justin L. Welty, Robert Arkle, Timothy J. Assal, David Pilliod, David M. Mushet, Rich Iovanna
Wild bee exposure to pesticides in conservation grasslands increases along an agricultural gradient: A tale of two sample types
Conservation efforts have been implemented in agroecosystems to enhance pollinator diversity by creating grassland habitat, but little is known about the exposure of bees to pesticides while foraging in these grassland fields. Pesticide exposure was assessed in 24 conservation grassland fields along an agricultural gradient at two time points (July and August) using silicone band passive samplers
Authors
Michelle Hladik, Johanna M. Kraus, Cassandra Smith, Mark W. Vandever, Dana W. Kolpin, Carrie E Givens, Kelly Smalling
Evaluating establishment of conservation practices in the Conservation Reserve Program across the central and western United States
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is one of the largest private lands conservation programs in the United States, establishing perennial vegetation on environmentally sensitive lands formerly in agricultural production. Over its 35 year existence, the CRP has evolved to include diverse conservation practices (CPs) while concomitantly meeting its core goals of
Authors
Mark W. Vandever, Sarah K. Carter, Timothy J. Assal, Kenneth Elgersma, Ai Wen, Justin L. Welty, Robert Arkle, Rich Iovanna
Diversity and abundance of wild bees in an agriculturally dominated landscape of eastern Colorado
Agricultural intensification has resulted in loss of natural and semi-natural habitats impacting several important ecosystem services. One group of organisms that has suffered greatly are the bees and hence pollination, the supporting ecosystem service they complete. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has implemented conservation practices designe
Authors
H. S. Arathi, Mark W. Vandever, Brian S. Cade
Factors influencing anuran wetland occupancy in an agricultural landscape
Habitat disturbance is an important cause of global amphibian declines, with especially strong effects in areas of high agricultural use. Determining the influence of site characteristics on amphibian presence and success is vital to developing effective conservation strategies. We used occupancy analysis to estimate presence of four anuran species at wetlands in northern Iowa as a function of eig
Authors
Jennifer E. Swanson, Clay Pierce, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Kelly Smalling, Mark W. Vandever, Timothy W. Stewart, Erin L. Muths
Exploring the amphibian exposome in an agricultural landscape using telemetry and passive sampling
This is the first field study of its kind to combine radio telemetry, passive samplers, and pesticide accumulation in tissues to characterize the amphibian exposome as it relates to pesticides. Understanding how habitat drives exposure in individuals (i.e., their exposome), and how that relates to individual health is critical to managing species in an agricultural landscape where pesticide exposu
Authors
Jennifer E. Swanson, Erin L. Muths, Clay Pierce, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Mark W. Vandever, Michelle Hladik, Kelly L. Smalling
Placement of intracoelomic radio transmitters and silicone passive sampling devices in northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens)
Historically, wetland toxin exposure studies have relied on single time point samples from stationary sampling devices. Development of passive sampling devices (PSDs) that can be attached to individual animals within wetland habitats has greatly improved in recent years, presenting an innovative sampling technology that can potentially yield individual-specific, quantifiable data about chemical ex
Authors
Taylor Yaw, Jennifer E. Swanson, Clay Pierce, Erin L. Muths, Kelly L. Smalling, Mark W. Vandever, Bianca Anne Zaffarano
Amphibians, pesticides, and the amphibian chytrid fungus in restored wetlands in agricultural landscapes
Information on interactions between pesticide exposure and disease prevalence in amphibian populations is limited, especially from field data. Exposure to certain herbicides and insecticides has the potential to decrease the immune response in frogs, which can potentially lead to increased abundance of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) zoospores on individuals and in the wetlands. In contrast, e
Authors
Rebecca A. Reeves, Clay Pierce, Mark W. Vandever, Erin L. Muths, Kelly L. Smalling
Exposure of native bees foraging in an agricultural landscape to current-use pesticides
The awareness of insects as pollinators and indicators of environmental quality has grown in recent years, partially in response to declines in honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations. While most pesticide research has focused on honey bees, there has been less work on native bee populations. To determine the exposure of native bees to pesticides, bees were collected from an existing research area
Authors
Michelle Hladik, Mark W. Vandever, Kelly L. Smalling
Restored agricultural wetlands in Central Iowa: habitat quality and amphibian response
Amphibians are declining throughout the United States and worldwide due, partly, to habitat loss. Conservation practices on the landscape restore wetlands to denitrify tile drainage effluent and restore ecosystem services. Understanding how water quality, hydroperiod, predation, and disease affect amphibians in restored wetlands is central to maintaining healthy amphibian populations in the region
Authors
Rebecca A. Reeves, Clay Pierce, Kelly L. Smalling, Robert W. Klaver, Mark W. Vandever, William A. Battaglin, Erin L. Muths
Management of conservation reserve program grasslands to meet wildlife habitat objectives
Numerous studies document environmental and social benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This report offers a synopsis of findings regarding effects of establishing CRP conservation practices on the quality and distribution of wildlife habitat in agricultural landscapes. On individual farms, year-round provision of wildlife habitat by the CRP may appear relatively insignificant. Howe
Authors
Mark W. Vandever, Arthur W. Allen
Science and Products
- Science
Social and Economic Analysis (SEA) Branch
The Social and Economic Analysis (SEA) branch is an interdisciplinary group of scientists whose primary functions are to conduct both theoretical and applied social science research, provide technical assistance, and offer training to support the development of skills in natural resource management activities.Agricultural Practices
Environmentally responsible land management has direct and indirect implications for wildlife, water quality, and air quality in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems far beyond their extent. Agricultural land use accounts for over 50 percent of the surface area of the contiguous United States. Public recognition that social, aesthetic, and recreational values enhance the traditional uses of...Pesticide Exposure to Native Bees in Agricultural Landscapes
There is a lack of knowledge and understanding of how widespread use of pesticides may affect bees as they move across a diverse agricultural landscape. Studies have shown there are impacts to honey bees due to exposure to pesticides including neonicotinoid insecticides and fungicides, but the effects of these compounds on native pollinators are largely unknown.Native Pollinators in Agricultural Ecosystems
Beginning in 2012, the USGS collaborated with the USDA to assess the effectiveness of pollinator plantings and how alteration of landscapes has affected native pollinators and potentially contributed to their decline. The 2008 Farm Bill recognized contributions made by pollinators and made conservation of pollinator habitat a priority. The USGS is assessing native bee habitat, diversity, and...Conservation Practices in Agriculturally Dominated Landscapes
Agricultural land use accounts for over 50 percent of the surface area of the contiguous United States. How these lands are managed has direct and indirect implications for wildlife, water quality, and air quality in terrestrial, aquatic, and marine ecosystems locally and far beyond their extent. - Data
Plant and insect pollinator diversity data from Conservation Reserve Program fields across an agricultural gradient in eastern Iowa
This data release includes sampling location identification and timing data as well as plant and insect pollinator taxonomic information in Conservation Reserve Program fields. Sampling took place during July and August of 2019. Fields were located on private land managed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program in eastern central Iowa, U.S.A.Characteristics, presence of erosional features, and cover of vegetation and bare ground on fields formerly enrolled in grassland, wetland, and wildlife practices of the Conservation Reserve Program in the central and western United States from 2017 to 20
Data included in this data set are from edge-of-field surveys that recorded the presence of erosional features, cover of vegetation and bare ground, and management activities (e.g., haying) on 1092 fields that had expired from three types of conservation practices (grassland, wetland, and wildlife) in the Conservation Reserve Program. Field sampling data were recorded across six US Department of APercent vegetation cover, bare ground and presence of erosional features on managed Conservation Reserve Program fields across central and western United States, 2016-2019
Data included in this data set are from edge-of-field surveys of managed fields that recorded the presence of erosional features and cover of vegetation and bare ground on 320 Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) fields across central and western United States. Field sampling data was recorded across six US Department of Agriculture Farm Production Regions (Corn belt, Lake states, Mountain, NorthernImages and Identifications of Wild Bees Collected in Eastern Iowa, 2019
Bees were collected in 24 fields across eastern Iowa in summer 2019. This data collection was part of a pesticide study funded by the USGS Ecosystems Mission Area- Environmental Health Program. Bees were collected using the sweep net method and then were immediately placed on dry ice in the field. Bees were kept frozen to prevent degradation. In the lab, each wild bee was photographed from one orPesticide residues in passive samplers and bee tissue from Conservation Reserve Program fields across an agricultural gradient in eastern Iowa, USA, 2019 (ver 2.0, October 2023)
This data release includes sampling location, pesticide concentrations in passive samplers (silicone bands) and bees foraging in Conservation Reserve Program fields. Sampling took place during July and August of 2019. Fields were located on private land managed for the U.S. Department of Agriculture Conservation Reserve Program in eastern central Iowa, U.S.A.Presence of erosional features and cover of grasses, forbs, and bare ground on fields enrolled in grassland, wetland, and wildlife practices of the Conservation Reserve Program in the central and western United States from 2016 to 2018
Data included in this data set are from in-field and edge-of-field surveys that recorded the presence of erosional features and cover of vegetation and bare ground on 1786 Conservation Reserve Program fields across three types of conservation practices (grassland, wetland, and wildlife). Field sampling data were recorded across six US Department of Agriculture Farm Production Regions (Corn belt, LNative Bee Genera in Colorado Conservation Reserve Program Fields, Collected from 2012-2014
Data included in this data set are for blue vane trap captured native bees from Logan County, Colorado starting in 2012 and ending in 2014. Data collected were the number of bees captured per date, per field, and identified to genus. Net level data contains 16,229 records.Amphibian Occupancy and Effects of Habitat Use on Pesticide Exposure in Iowa Wetlands
Amphibians living in agricultural areas encounter many challenges. Two factors affecting individuals in these landscapes are habitat loss and pesticides. This thesis focuses on amphibians using agricultural wetlands in Iowa, where row crops such as corn and soybeans dominate the landscape. The goal of my first study was to determine the influences of site characteristics on amphibian presence and - Multimedia
- Publications
Filter Total Items: 25
Rangeland Ecosystem Services: Connecting nature and people
No abstract available.AuthorsJeff Goodwin, Lauren M. Porensky, Paul Meiman, Hailey Wilmer, Justin D. Derner, Rich Iovanna, Anna Clare Monlezun, Mark W. Vandever, Jon Griggs, Frank Price, Sheri Spiegal, Nick Padilla, Dave Voth, Anna Maher, Rory O'Connor, David Hoover, Jenny Pluhar, Catherine Estep, William FoxPersistence and quality of vegetation cover in expired Conservation Reserve Program fields
For nearly 40 years, the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has implemented practices to reduce soil erosion, improve water quality, and provide habitat for wildlife and pollinators on highly erodible cropland in the United States. However, an approximately 40,470 ha (10 million acres) decline in enrolled CRP land over the last decade has greatly reduced the program's environmental benefits. We soAuthorsMark W. Vandever, Kenneth Elgersma, Sarah K. Carter, Ai Wen, Justin L. Welty, Robert Arkle, Timothy J. Assal, David Pilliod, David M. Mushet, Rich IovannaWild bee exposure to pesticides in conservation grasslands increases along an agricultural gradient: A tale of two sample types
Conservation efforts have been implemented in agroecosystems to enhance pollinator diversity by creating grassland habitat, but little is known about the exposure of bees to pesticides while foraging in these grassland fields. Pesticide exposure was assessed in 24 conservation grassland fields along an agricultural gradient at two time points (July and August) using silicone band passive samplersAuthorsMichelle Hladik, Johanna M. Kraus, Cassandra Smith, Mark W. Vandever, Dana W. Kolpin, Carrie E Givens, Kelly SmallingEvaluating establishment of conservation practices in the Conservation Reserve Program across the central and western United States
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) is one of the largest private lands conservation programs in the United States, establishing perennial vegetation on environmentally sensitive lands formerly in agricultural production. Over its 35 year existence, the CRP has evolved to include diverse conservation practices (CPs) while concomitantly meeting its core goals ofAuthorsMark W. Vandever, Sarah K. Carter, Timothy J. Assal, Kenneth Elgersma, Ai Wen, Justin L. Welty, Robert Arkle, Rich IovannaDiversity and abundance of wild bees in an agriculturally dominated landscape of eastern Colorado
Agricultural intensification has resulted in loss of natural and semi-natural habitats impacting several important ecosystem services. One group of organisms that has suffered greatly are the bees and hence pollination, the supporting ecosystem service they complete. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) has implemented conservation practices designeAuthorsH. S. Arathi, Mark W. Vandever, Brian S. CadeFactors influencing anuran wetland occupancy in an agricultural landscape
Habitat disturbance is an important cause of global amphibian declines, with especially strong effects in areas of high agricultural use. Determining the influence of site characteristics on amphibian presence and success is vital to developing effective conservation strategies. We used occupancy analysis to estimate presence of four anuran species at wetlands in northern Iowa as a function of eigAuthorsJennifer E. Swanson, Clay Pierce, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Kelly Smalling, Mark W. Vandever, Timothy W. Stewart, Erin L. MuthsExploring the amphibian exposome in an agricultural landscape using telemetry and passive sampling
This is the first field study of its kind to combine radio telemetry, passive samplers, and pesticide accumulation in tissues to characterize the amphibian exposome as it relates to pesticides. Understanding how habitat drives exposure in individuals (i.e., their exposome), and how that relates to individual health is critical to managing species in an agricultural landscape where pesticide exposuAuthorsJennifer E. Swanson, Erin L. Muths, Clay Pierce, Stephen J. Dinsmore, Mark W. Vandever, Michelle Hladik, Kelly L. SmallingPlacement of intracoelomic radio transmitters and silicone passive sampling devices in northern leopard frogs (Lithobates pipiens)
Historically, wetland toxin exposure studies have relied on single time point samples from stationary sampling devices. Development of passive sampling devices (PSDs) that can be attached to individual animals within wetland habitats has greatly improved in recent years, presenting an innovative sampling technology that can potentially yield individual-specific, quantifiable data about chemical exAuthorsTaylor Yaw, Jennifer E. Swanson, Clay Pierce, Erin L. Muths, Kelly L. Smalling, Mark W. Vandever, Bianca Anne ZaffaranoAmphibians, pesticides, and the amphibian chytrid fungus in restored wetlands in agricultural landscapes
Information on interactions between pesticide exposure and disease prevalence in amphibian populations is limited, especially from field data. Exposure to certain herbicides and insecticides has the potential to decrease the immune response in frogs, which can potentially lead to increased abundance of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) zoospores on individuals and in the wetlands. In contrast, eAuthorsRebecca A. Reeves, Clay Pierce, Mark W. Vandever, Erin L. Muths, Kelly L. SmallingExposure of native bees foraging in an agricultural landscape to current-use pesticides
The awareness of insects as pollinators and indicators of environmental quality has grown in recent years, partially in response to declines in honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations. While most pesticide research has focused on honey bees, there has been less work on native bee populations. To determine the exposure of native bees to pesticides, bees were collected from an existing research areaAuthorsMichelle Hladik, Mark W. Vandever, Kelly L. SmallingRestored agricultural wetlands in Central Iowa: habitat quality and amphibian response
Amphibians are declining throughout the United States and worldwide due, partly, to habitat loss. Conservation practices on the landscape restore wetlands to denitrify tile drainage effluent and restore ecosystem services. Understanding how water quality, hydroperiod, predation, and disease affect amphibians in restored wetlands is central to maintaining healthy amphibian populations in the regionAuthorsRebecca A. Reeves, Clay Pierce, Kelly L. Smalling, Robert W. Klaver, Mark W. Vandever, William A. Battaglin, Erin L. MuthsManagement of conservation reserve program grasslands to meet wildlife habitat objectives
Numerous studies document environmental and social benefits of the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). This report offers a synopsis of findings regarding effects of establishing CRP conservation practices on the quality and distribution of wildlife habitat in agricultural landscapes. On individual farms, year-round provision of wildlife habitat by the CRP may appear relatively insignificant. HoweAuthorsMark W. Vandever, Arthur W. Allen